Abstract
Four Footed Pharmacists: Indications of Self-Medicating Livestock in Karamoja, Uganda.Following observations of goats’ possible self-medication browsing the anti-parasitic plant, Albizia anthelmintica, an ethnobotanical survey was undertaken to examine whether livestock engage in other self-medicating behaviors, and if people also use the same medications. Information was gathered over a five-month period from 147 Karamojong pastoralists and healers using a checklist of questions. There were 124 observations for 50 proposed self-medicating behaviors, primarily eating plants, to treat a total of 35 disease conditions. Of the plant species, 72% were also prepared by informants to treat human or veterinary diseases. Species importance was estimated by four factors: >3 user citations, informant consensus factor >0.4, fidelity level >40% and presence in the local pharmacopoeia. Eight species fulfilled all of these factors, and 12 had at least three. These results provide support for the hypothesis that animals graze specific plants when ill and suggest that people have developed some of their knowledge through animal observation.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group 2003. An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG II Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 141, 399–436.
Birkinshaw, C. R. 1999. Use of millipedes by black lemurs to anoint their bodies. Folia Primatologica 703:170–171.
Clark, L., and Mason, J. R. 1985. Use of nest material as insecticidal and anti-pathogenic agents by the European Starling. Oecologia 67, 169–176.
Clayton, D. H., and Wolfe, N. D. 1993. The adaptive significance of self-medication. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 8, 60–63.
Cook, F. E. M. 1995. Economic Botany data collections standard. KEW Royal Botanic Gardens, London.
Engel, C. 2002. Wild Health. Weidenfeld and Nicolson: London.
Gathuma, J. M., Mbaria, J. M., Wanyama, J., Kaburia, H. F. A., Mpoke, L., Mwangi, J. N., and Samburu and Turkana Healers. 2004. Efficacy of Myrsine africana, Albizia anthelmintica and Hilderbrantia sepalosa herbal remedies against mixed natural sheep helminthosis in Samburu district, Kenya. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 91, 7–12.
Githiori, J. B., Höglund, J., Waller, P. J., and Baker, R. L. 2003. The anthelmintic efficacy of the plant, Albizia anthelmintica, against the nematode parasites Haemonchus contortus of sheep and Heligmosomoides polygyrus of mice. Veterinary Parasitology 116, 23–34.
Gradé, J. T. 2001. Bringing healing to the nations through ethnoveterinary medicine. Pages 95–106 in J. Gefu, P. A. Abdu, and C. B. Alawa, eds. Ethnoveterinary practices research and development: Proceedings international workshop on ethnoveterinary practices, National Animal Production Research Institute. Ahmadu Bello University, Kaduna, Nigeria.
———, Tabuti, J. R. S., Van Damme, P., and Arble, B. L. 2007. Deworming efficacy of Albizia anthelmintica in Uganda: Preliminary findings. African Journal of Ecology 45 3:18–20.
Gulliver, P. H. 1952. The Karamajong Cluster. Africa. Journal of the International African Institute 22 1:1–22.
Hart, B. L. 2005. The evolution of herbal medicine: behavioural perspectives. Animal Behaviour 70, 975–989.
Heinrich, M. 2000. Ethnobotany and its role in drug development. Phytotherapy Research 14, 479–488.
Heinrich, M., Ankli, A., Frei, B., Weimann, C., and Sticher, O. 1998. Medicinal plants in Mexico: Healers’ consensus and cultural importance. Social Science and Medicine 47, 1859–1871.
Huffman, M. A. 2003. Self-medication by primates and humans: exploitation of medicinal properties of plants. Proceeding of the Nutritional Society 62, 371–381.
———. 1997. Current evidence for self-medication in primates: A multidisciplinary perspective. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology, 40, 171–200.
———. 2007. Primate Self-Medication. Pages 677–690 in C. Campbell, A. Fuentes, K. MacKinnon, M. Panger, and S. Bearder, eds. Primates in Perspective. University of Oxford Press, Oxford.
———, and Seifu, M. 1989. Observations of illness and consumption of a possibly medicinal plant Vernonia amygdalina (Del.), by a wild chimpanzee in the Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania. Primates 30, 51–63.
———, Gotoh, S., Izutsu, D., Koshimizu, K., and Kalunde, M. S. 1993. Further observations on the use of the medicinal plant, Vernonia amygdalina (Del.), by a wild chimpanzee, its possible effect on parasite load, and its phytochemistry. African Study Monographs 14, 227–240.
———, Koshimizu, K., and Ohigashi, H. 1996. Ethnobotany and zoopharmacognosy of Vernonia amygdalina, a medicinal plant used by humans and chimpanzees. Pages 351–360 in Caligari and DJN Hind, eds. Compositae: Biology and utilization. Vol 2. Royal Botanic Gardens, KEW, London.
Janzen, D. H. 1978. Complications in interpreting the chemical defenses of trees against tropical arboreal plant-eating vertebrates. Pages 73–84 in G. G. Montgomery ed. The Ecology of Arboreal Folivores, Smithsonian Institute Press. Washington D.C.
Koko, W. S., Galal, M., and Khalid, H. S. 2000. Fasciolicidal efficacy of Albizia anthelmintica and Balanites aegyptiaca compared with albendazole. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 71, 247–252.
Krief, S., Hladik, C. M., and Haxaire, C. 2005. Ethnomedicinal and bioactive properties of plants ingested by wild chimpanzees in Uganda. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 101, 1–15.
———, Huffman, M. A., Sevenet, T., Hladik, C. M., Grellier, P., Loiseau, P. M., and Wrangham, R. W. 2006. Bioactive properties of plant species ingested by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in the Kibale National Park, Uganda. American Journal of Primatology 68, 51–71.
Lozano, G. A. 1998. Parasitic stress and self-medication in wild animals. Pages 291–317 in A. P. Møller, M. Milinski, and P. J. B. Slater, eds. Advances in the Study of Behavior, Vol. 27. Stress and Behavior. Chapter 6. Academic Press, London.
Martin, G. J. 1995. Ethnobotany. A methods manual. Chapman and Hall, London
McCorkle, C. M. 1986. An introduction to ethnoveterinary research and development. Journal of Ethnobiology 6, 129–149.
———, C. M., Mathias, E., and Schillhorn Van Veen, T. 1996. Ethnoveterinary research and development. Intermediate Technology Publications, London.
Mirzeler, M., and Young, C. 2000. Pastoral politics in the northeast periphery in Uganda: AK-47 as change agent. The Journal of Modern African Studies 38, 407–429.
Moerman, D. E. 2007. Agreement and meaning: Rethinking consensus analysis. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 112, 451–460.
Nègre, A., Tarnaud, L., Roblot, J. F., Gantier, J. C., and Guillot, J. 2006. Plants Consumed by Eulemur fulvus in Comoros Islands (Mayotte) and Potential Effects on Intestinal Parasites. International Journal of Primatology 27, 1395–1512.
Niezen, J. H., Robertson, H. A., Waghorn, G. C., and Charleston, W. A. 1998. Production, faecal egg counts and worm burdens of ewe lambs which grazed six contrasting forages. Veterinary Parasitology 801:15–27.
Paolini, V., Fouraste, I., and Hoste, H. 2004. In vitro effects of three woody plant and sainfoin extracts on 3rd-stage larvae and adult worms of three gastrointestinal nematodes. Parasitology 129:69–77.
Phillips, O. L. 1996. Some Quantitative Methods for Analyzing Ethnobotanical Knowledge. Pages 172–197 in M. N. Alexiades, ed. Selected Guidelines Ethnobotanical Research: A Field Manual. The New York Botanical Gardens, New York.
Pratt, D. J., and Gwynne, M. G. 1977. Rangeland management and ecology in East Africa. Hodder and Stoughton, London.
Reyes-Garia, V., Tomás, H., Vadezo, V., Leonard, W., and Wilke, D. 2006. Cultural, practical, and economic value of wild plants: a quantitative study in the Bolivian Amazon. Economic Botany 60, 62–74.
Rodríguez, E., and Wrangham, R. W. 1993. Zoopharmacognosy: the use of medicinal plants by animals. Pages 89–105 in K. R. Downum, J. T. Romeo, and H. Stafford, eds. Recent Advances in Phytochemistry, Vol. 27, Phytochemical Potential of Tropic Plants. Plenum Press, New York.
Thomas, A. S. 1943. The vegetation of the Karamoja district, Uganda: An illustration of biological factors in tropical ecology. The Journal of Ecology 31, 149–177.
Trotter, R. T., and Logan, M. H. 1986. Informant Consensus: a new approach for identifying potentially effective medicinal plants. Pages 91–112 in N. L. Etkin, ed. Plants in Indigenous Medicine and Diet: Biobehavioral Approaches. Redgrave Publishing Co, Bedford Hills, New York.
UBOS. 2002. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Uganda Population and Housing Census. Main Report. UBOS, Kampala.
Villalba, J., Provenza, F. D., and Shaw, R. 2006. Sheep self-medicate when challenged with illness-inducing foods. Animal Behavior 71, 1131–1139.
Watt, J. M., and Beyer-Brandwijk, M. M. 1962. Medicinal and Poisonous Plants of Eastern and Southern Africa. London, E & S Livingstone Publishers.
Wrangham, R. W., and Nishida, T. 1983. Aspilia spp. leaves: A puzzle in the feeding of wild chimpanzees. Primates 24, 276–282.
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the registered healers of Bokora and Pian and to the staff of KACHEP for sharing your wisdom and welcoming us into your hearts. The traditional healers and pastoralists of Karamoja are the owners of the information presented in this paper and any benefits that may arise from the use of this information will belong to them. Gratitude to the editing assistance of friends and reviewers. For identification of plant specimens, we thank Olivia Wanyana Maganyi and Protase Rwaburindore of Makerere University for their expertise. We are also grateful to the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology for permission to work in Karamoja. Funding has been through Christian Veterinary Mission, Seattle, USA.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gradé, J.T., Tabuti, J.R.S. & Van Damme, P. Four Footed Pharmacists: Indications of Self-Medicating Livestock in Karamoja, Uganda. Econ Bot 63, 29–42 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-008-9058-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-008-9058-z